Version 2.0 of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid takes to the track this weekend, competing in the second round of the Nürburgring Long Distance Championship (VLN). The car, a further developed version of the 911 Hybrid that nearly won the Nürburgring 24 last year, will be driven by Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister, Marco Holzer and American Patrick Long.

So, what's been done with this latest Porsche 911 Hybrid race car? Well, Porsche has placed a priority on increasing efficiency. The weight of the vehicle, including the hybrid components, has been reduced from 1350 kg (2977 lb.) to 1300 kg (2866 lb.), with the weight of the hybrid components themselves reduced by 20 percent. The general layout of the car remains the same, with the flywheel/accumulator still housed in a carbon-fiber safety cell on the passenger-side floorboard.

The output of the electric motors at the front axle has been increased from 60 to 75 kilowatts each. What's more, Porsche says the electric power of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 is now, depending on the programming, automatically activated through use of the throttle pedal. However, the hybrid driver can still manually call up this extra power, for instance when overtaking, via a lever on the steering wheel. Also significant: The conventional flat-6 engine driving the rear wheels, which still displaces 4.0 liters, has been detuned from 480 bhp to 465 bhp. Porsche says this has been done in the interest of better fuel efficiency, and perhaps better engine longevity.

"We've made huge strides forward with the further-developed 911 GT3 R Hybrid. But testing under race conditions gives us additional information that is not easy to collect during a simulation," says Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. "We'll use the information gained from the VLN races to make our racing lab even more reliable and economical."

Can't wait to see how this car will fare in the Nürburging 24 on June 25. Just think: Patrick Long may join Boris Said as the only Americans to win the race.